Category Archives: U.S.

Business/Economics, U.S.

Occupy America! New York City mayor orders Wall Street protestors out, so the park can be cleaned. War veterans arrested. JP Morgan buys off NYPD

October 13, Reports out of New York City say that the mayor has ordered protestors out, so that city workers can clean Zucotti park.

Protestors will hold a meeting soon, to decide how they will respond.

Several War on Terror veterans were arrested, one a former U.S. Army interrogator in Iraq.  At least eleven protestors in San Francisco, California, were arrested on Wednesday.  They had blocked access to the Wells Fargo headquarters.

On Tuesday, about 200 protestors were arrested in Boston, Massachusetts, and about 27 in Chicago, Illinois.

A former equities broker says James Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase & Company, gave the New York City police millions of dollars to fight the protestors: “…$4.6 million to the New York Police Department to beef up police presence on the streets and to crack heads and to violently oppress protesters.”-Max Keiser, former equities broker

In the past Keiser called JP Morgan “…the biggest financial terrorist on Wall Street.”

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Japanese fleeing to United States, China and Australia, in the millions

The number of Japanese leaving their country, in one year, has hit a record 1.1 million.  That’s according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, which counted the number of Japanese who’ve officially become permanent residents of foreign countries.

The country of choice for most Japanese expatriates is the United States, with more than 388,000 becoming residents as of the end of 2010.

China is next with about 131,000, and Australia with about 70,800. The top three countries have remained unchanged since 2008.

Within the U.S., Los Angeles is the number one destination followed by New York City.

International, U.S.

Occupy America! Some facts about Revolutions the leaderless Wall Street occupiers, and Tea Partiers, need to know

The following is a brief on research I did on how Revolutions actually work, because they don’t follow the predictions of Karl Marx; that revolutions are led by the lower classes.  Three authors were read: Crane Brinton, James C. Davies and Ted Gurr.

James C. Davies (creator of the J-curve theory of revolutions) compared the theories of Karl Marx and A. de Tocqueville, with the Dorr Rebellion,  1917 Russian Revolution and 1952 Egyptian Revolution.

Davies found that economically motivated revolutions come after a relatively long time of decline for the middle and upper classes (the poor are too destitute to do anything about their situation).  In other words, it’s like a frog in a boiling pot of water; it takes awhile before the middle and upper classes realize they’re being screwed over.

Davies also discovered that if economic times are bad enough no revolution will take place, because everyone is too busy fending for themselves.  In other words if the middle and upper classes wait too long, they won’t have the strength to fight the elites.

Ted Gurr (Why Men Rebel) found that civil strife is affected by many factors, including economic deprivation and how the society views its leaders/government.

Gurr found that societies with a history of recurring civil strife are most likely to continue with such problems in the future.  Here in the United States the main problem is that too many citizens put too much faith in their ‘authorities’; from organized religion, to Corporate America and their government (at all levels/local/state/federal).  The irony is that the United States was founded on rebellion against authority (something that has been forgotten by many U.S. citizens).

Gurr also found that the success, or failure, of a revolution depends on how much support (from the general population and from outside the country) it gets.

One way the government/Corporate America can snuff out domestic support is to control the media coverage of such revolutions.  In fact our government (along with the British) has also used the media to create false revolutions (false flag ops) in other countries: The 1953 coup in Iran is a prime example.

Another proof of support for revolutions comes from the 1776 U.S. Revolution. If it wasn’t for the occasional raids into the southern Colonies by the Spanish, and the blockade of the British navy by the French navy, there would be no United States.

Crane Brinton (The Anatomy of Revolution) applied the scientific method in studying the 1641 English Revolution, 1776 U.S. Revolution (American War of Independence), the 1789 French Revolution and the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Brinton found that those revolutions were actually started by middle and upper class leaders.  The poor had little to do with it. The motivation of the middle and upper classes were economic: They were living in circumstances that were threatening to take away the economic gains they, and their predecessors had made, for the benefit of the elites.

Some beginning signs of Revolution: Austerity acts; tax increases/cuts to social programs.  Tax revolts.  Mobilization of Revolutionaries.  Ineffectual government reforms/accommodations.  Government repression.

Revolutionaries tend to be better leaders, organizers and motivators, than the establishment, but Brinton has warnings for Revolutionaries: Usually what happens is moderates take control of government but end up running things the same as before.  Then extremists take over, and things can get nasty, like a “reign of terror”.  Extremists can take advantage of “mob mentality” resulting in social terror that is presented as being democratic. Eventually extremists turn on each other, leading to dictatorships.  (Also, read Orwell’s Animal Farm. There’s also a cartoon version, but it’s not really for the kids ’cause it follows the book closely.)

So, these three researchers discovered that it’s not the poor who lead revolutions, it is the middle and upper classes.  The middle and upper classes revolt because their economically unstable governments (and now unstable Corporate America as well) put pressure on the more stable public, which causes the public to feel threatened and creates, at the very least, the perception that their economic prosperity (or even the chance of ever achieving prosperity) is finished.

Occupy America: Steve Jobs’ secret to success; Live Life your way

Occupy America: Federal Reserve boss blames Wall Street

Opinion, U.S.

United Police States of America: The U.S. is not governed by the Rule of Law, Obama can kill you without explaining why

So much for the Rule of Law.  How many times has George Bush Jr used that phrase during one of his many speeches justifying the War on Terror?  Well the Obama administration proves that the U.S. government operates without due process, without regard for the law, they make up secret laws as they go.

“The Justice Department wrote a secret memorandum authorizing the lethal targeting of Anwar al-Aulaqi, the American-born radical cleric who was killed by a U.S. drone strike Friday, according to administration officials. The document was produced following a review of the legal issues raised by striking a U.S. citizen and involved senior lawyers from across the administration. There was no dissent about the legality of killing Aulaqi, the officials said.”-Washington Post

In the recent killings of two U.S. citizens, Anwar al Awlaki and Samir Khan, President Barack Obama says the Justice Department came up with legal justification for the killing, even though al Awlaki has never been directly linked with any attacks against the U.S.  He was killed for speaking his mind!

“The White House refused to offer evidence of al-Awlaki’s role in terrorism or answer questions about the standard for killing an American.”-Washington Post

Here’s an interesting statement: Obama called al Awlaki “…the leader of external operations for Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.” What’s interesting is that it’s the first time the United States referred to al Awlaki in that way!  In fact, it was after they killed him that the U.S. government “linked” him directly to attempted terrorist attacks (the main stream media bought the bullshit)!

There are media reports out of the Middle East that say al Awlaki’s assassination coincided with the return of the pro-U.S. president of Yemen, from medical exile after being wounded in an attack on his life.  Al Awlaki was seen as a leader in the Arab uprising going on in Yemen right now, and a threat to the pro-U.S. president of Yemen.  That’s probably the real reason he was killed.

Here’s another interesting point, the mosque in Virginia, where al Awlaki preached, stated that his message was of tolerance, until he went to Yemen, where he was arrested and tortured by the pro-U.S. Yemen government.  After that is when he started making statements against the U.S.  Well no surprise there, but then all these holier than tho police state NAZIs actually expect you to thank them after they torture you!

And what did U.S. citizen Samir Khan do?  He edited a Jihadi Internet magazine!  So I guess us bloggers are fair game.

Many people might say that since the U.S. Justice Department legally justified the killing, then it must be legal.  The problem is that in a society run by the Rule of Law, all laws must be public knowledge (remember the saying: Ignorance of the law is no excuse).  This “law” the Obama administration came up with is “classified”.

So now, in the United States, the land of the Rule of Law, is a secret law that says the President of the United States can kill any U.S. citizen based on what that citizen says, or who they piss off!  Who’s the real terrorist here?

 

 

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: United Nations closer to recognizing Palestine as full member, Arab hater Hillary Clinton warns UNESCO of decision

The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has voted to recommend Palestine for full membership.  According to Israeli media, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a warning: “I…would urge the governing body of UNESCO to think again before proceeding with that vote because the decision about status must be made in the United Nations and not in auxiliary groups that are subsidiary to the United Nations.”

The United States has threatened to stop paying its portion of UNESCO funding if it recognizes Palestine as a full member.

UNESCO has the authority to give a country full membership, even if the state is not recognized by the United Nations Security Council.

UNESCO has 58 members.  40 voted in favor of putting the Palestinian matter to a vote.  14 abstained.  The United States, Germany, Romania and Latvia voted no.

The U.S. has also threatened to end financial aid going to Palestinians, if they become a UN recognized state.  Many Israelis are worried that the U.S. will use that to justify ending financial aid to Israel as well.  Aid to Palestinians is a drop in the bucket compared to what the U.S. gives Israel.

 

Business/Economics, International, Opinion, Technology, U.S.

Thank you Steve Jobs! Occupy America, follow his example, live life your way!

Steve Jobs was a revolutionary.  We wouldn’t have half the personal computer related products without him.  I love my Mac, after decades of using crappy IBM based PCs I finally splurged and got me a Mac a few years ago.  I’ve never had one problem that I’ve had with the IBM type PCs.  I’ve had my Mac longer than any PC I’ve had in the past, which justifies what I paid for it.

Jobs was also proof you don’t need a college degree to succeed!  “You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

Jobs’ secret to success? Do what you want, not what society tells you to do: “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.  And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.  If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.  Don’t settle.  As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.  And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.”

And that’s exactly what the U.S. Declaration of Independence says you should do: “…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

You read that? It says the people of the United States are supposed to base their lives on the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness, not following the orders of a society brainwashed by Corporate America, or the military industrial complex, or organized religion, or the Israeli lobby!  It’s one of the reasons why the creation of the United States was so revolutionary (like Steve Jobs)!

I hope Apple doesn’t go astray.  Steve Jobs died October 5, 2011.

Business/Economics, U.S.

Occupy America! Federal Reserve Boss agrees with protestors. Wall Street is to blame!

“Well, I would say very generally I think people are quite unhappy with the state of the economy and what’s happening.  They blame, with some justification, the problems in the financial sector for getting us into this mess, and they’re dissatisfied with the policy response here in Washington.  And at some level, I can’t blame them.”–Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Bank Chairman

October 5, Ben Bernanke was answering questions from a U.S. Senate panel (yet again), when he was asked about the growing, and spreading, “Occupy” demonstrations.  Senators wanted to know if the protestors were justified in blaming Corporate America for the economic fall of the United States.

“Did Wall Street’s greed and recklessness cause this recession, that lead to so many people losing their jobs?” asked Senator Bernie Sanders.  Bernanke replied that excessive risk taking on Wall Street and the failure of financial regulators “had a lot to do” with the recession.


Business/Economics, U.S.

What Job Stimulus? Nearly half a million more people will lose their jobs! Just the beginning, more to come

Any job stimulus bill that gets passed by U.S. Congress will be much too little much too late.  That’s because the upcoming, publicly announced, layoffs will shut down nearly half a million jobs!

Chicago based Gray & Christmas Incorporated added up all the publicly announced future job layoffs, and it came to 480,000 jobs.  70% of those job cuts involve Bank of America and the U.S. Army.

Analysts say we ain’t seen nothin’ yet, not all layoffs are publicly announced in advance: “Bank of America is not the only bank still struggling in the wake of the housing collapse, and the military cutbacks are probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to federal spending cuts.”-John A. Challenger, CEO of Gray & Christmas

According to the Bloomberg article, it’s the biggest cuts in jobs in the past two years. A 212% increase from September 2010!

And don’t forget the intentional destruction of the U.S. Postal Service, by the U.S. Congress.  Happy upcoming Holidays!

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

United Police States of America: New York Police force New York Bus Drivers to take Occupy Wall Street demonstrators to jail

“The government may only compel a citizen to assist in law enforcement when there is imminent danger. There was no imminent danger here, and therefore the Operator’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated.”-John Samuelsen, Transport Workers Union Local 100

On the day that thousands of protestors took the Brooklyn Bridge, the NYPD forced New York city bus drivers to off load their passengers, just so the buses could be used as Paddy Wagons.  Police said they needed the buses to haul away the 700+ people they had arrested.

Now the New York city bus drivers are taking the cops to court!  The bus drivers’ union says police can only take over vehicles in an emergency, and peaceful protesting is not an emergency: “…this was not such an emergency, and our members’ rights were violated. They are there to transport passengers, not be an arm of City Hall to squelch free speech!”-John Samuelsen

The union is asking the New York State Supreme Court for an injunction to keep the NYPD from forcing city buses to be used as Paddy Wagons.

Union members say they are now joining the Occupy movement: “They’ve really thrown a spotlight on issues that are bothering people, especially bothering workers like our members. Right now, we’re discussing how we’re going to give them material support, what we should do for them.”-Jim Gannon, Transport Workers Union